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At the USCCB website, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, chair of the Pro-Life Committee has a very well done statement on the controversy surrounding the Planned Parenthood videos. It really is possible to defend life while respecting women and not attacking our opponents. Cardinal Sean shows the way.

Today, in addition to being the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola (happy feast to all my Jesuit friends!), is the 50th anniversary of the signing into law of two landmark social programs, Medicare and Medicaid. Both were – and are – part of the “war on poverty,” much maligned by the right, but one of the notable, if incomplete, achievements of modern American politics.

Notre Dame's ACE program shows again that it is coming up with creative solutions to the otherwise intractable problems of education. In Memphis, they gave teachers a big raise AND switched to a year-round school schedule. So much of the news from America's inner cities is bad news. God Bless Notre Dame for bringing some good news.

We can all be forgiven for not even knowing that there was such a thing as a “motion to vacate the chair,” seeing as the procedure has not been invoked in over 100 years. But, Cong. Mark Meadows of North Carolina proposed such a motion yesterday, in effect calling for the ouster of fellow Republican Cong. John Boehner from the Speakership of the House of Representatives.

At Pray, Tell Blog, an article by Barry Hudock, whose book on Murray I have been reviewing. I agree that we need a measure of humility when discussing doctrine - as the Holy Father says, we must leave room for the Holy Spirit. But, humility cannot be a cover for the kind of theological relativism that is only too obvious in large swaths of both the Catholic Left & Right.

Yesterday, I began my review of a new book by Barry Hudock entitled Struggle, Condemnation, Vindication: John Courtney Murray’s Journey toward Vatican II. We left the tale with Murray silenced, his opponents still in power, and Pius XII dying.

The consultant advising on security and logistics for the papal visit in Philadelphia sure sounds like an unpleasant person in this story at Philly.com. He seems to think that Camden is a parking lot. (h/t to Rocco)

Barry Hudock has a new book out Struggle, Condemnation, Vindication: John Courtney Murray’s Journey toward Vatican II. As Hudock points out in his introduction, it has been nearly forty years since the last book length treatment of the imbroglio into which Murray plunged in the years before the Council, new archival material is available, and the tale is a kind of “theological adventure story.”

In this morning's Washington Post, a story about how the economic difficulties - and the drought - in Puerto Rico are increasing the number of Boricuas moving to Florida where they can vote in a presidential race. The Puerto Rican vote along the I-4 corridor has been key in several recent elections and, now, it may be decisive.

CORRECTION: The article below originally stated that the event took place at the Chicago Theological Union. In fact, it took place at the Chicago Theological Seminary, which is not a Catholic institution. I regret the error and apologize for the mistaken identification. The Catholic Theological Union, which is based in Chicago and is commonly referred to as CTU, was not connected to this event.